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Will Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chair and Clinton First Friend, become Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial nominee?
AP Photo

“There’s a growing sense about the Moran campaign that Brian is a very nice guy but he just kind of fell apart when Terry entered the race,” said one prominent Democrat who is a veteran of numerous campaigns.

“Brian, at every turn where he should have been demonstrating strength, has failed,” added Kristian Denny Todd, a Democratic consultant who is close to Webb.

Prompted by the former DNC chairman’s interest in the race, Moran quit the Legislature late last year in large part to free himself from the restrictions on raising money while the General Assembly is in session. But he now admits that, just days before the primary, he doesn’t have the money to get his name out.

Democrats say Moran’s most obvious line of attack against McAuliffe — that he’s entirely reliant on out-of-state money and is trying to buy the election — has been neutralized by his acceptance of cash from defense contractors close to his older brother, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

And the hope that some silver bullet of oppo or some blockbuster expose would land and disqualify McAuliffe from the race has, to date, not materialized.

McAuliffe may have been positioned to win even if Moran and Deeds had run flawless races, but at the very least they presented him with an opening.

Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), the Fairfax freshman who previously ran the commonwealth’s most populous county, credited McAuliffe for having a jobs message that is especially compelling in Virginia’s hardest-hit regions.

But Connolly, who is neutral in the race, also noted that McAuliffe has gained traction because “the other two have been running for the last three years and neither one of them had created a commanding lead.”

Tidewater-area Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), a longtime fixture in Richmond and then Washington, is also staying out of the primary. But he said many of his supporters are with McAuliffe — who he said is simply “running a much stronger grass roots campaign.”

“Brian and Creigh were looking at it like a marathon and then you had somebody came in and ran it like a very long sprint,” said Del. Jennifer McClellan, a young up-and-comer from Richmond who is also vice-chairwoman of the state party. “And Terry had energy and money to sustain it.”

“Neither Brian nor Creigh hit it the way Mark Warner did in 2001,” observed former Lt. Gov Don Beyer, alluding to the field-clearing effort the former governor put in leading up to his race.

Beyer, yet another party elder who is also staying out this year’s primary, noted that back then, before their rapid ascent, Democrats “were just turning anywhere for a savior. That’s not where we are now. We’re spoiled.”

It’s a commonly expressed sentiment this year — that after winning consecutive governor’s races, flipping both Senate seats and even turning Virginia blue on the presidential level for the first time in 44 years, the party has seemingly maxed out.

The primary has sparked little interest among voters other than party activists, and Democrats worry about what the means for the fall.

“It will be a tough race for any of the Democrats,” said Wilder of the race against McDonnell, who will be formally nominated this weekend.

For hearty Virginia Democrats who never saw a lot of national attention and then suddenly wound up playing a pivotal role in both nominating and electing the nation’s first black president, there is a sense of, "what else is there?"

“We’ve just come off this incredible, life-changing victory,” noted Beyer. “So there’s got to be a let-down. I can’t imagine that Virginia Democrats are as hungry now.”

North Korea testing numerous missiles. North Korea pretty much declaring war on anybody who opposes them. Iran sending naval vessels into the Gulf of Aden in an obvious show of force. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pretty much spitting in the face of the UN and the West when asked to relenquish nuclear testing. Unemployment is growing by the day. The Black Panthers are set free by the "fair and impartial" Obama administration and all the while Bubba is on a field trip to Nevada while these crisises grow and fester and the best story Politico can come up with is this??? Talk about ducking and deflecting for the Pres. However, Politico isn't in the tank for Obama, right? Please!!

North Korea testing numerous missiles. North Korea pretty much declaring war on anybody who opposes them. Iran sending naval vessels into the Gulf of Aden in an obvious show of force. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pretty much spitting in the face of the UN and the West when asked to relenquish nuclear testing. Unemployment is growing by the day. The Black Panthers are set free by the "fair and impartial" Obama administration and all the while Bubba is on a field trip to Nevada while these crisises grow and fester and the best story Politico can come up with is this??? Talk about ducking and deflecting for the Pres. However, Politico isn't in the tank for Obama, right? Please!!

USA TODAY Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA TODAY analysis shows. The 12% rise in red ink in 2008 stems from an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession, plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security.

That's the biggest leap in the long-term burden on taxpayers since a Medicare prescription drug benefit was added in 2003.

The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per household in 2008, according to the USA TODAY analysis. That's quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined.

"We have a huge implicit mortgage on every household in America — except, unlike a real mortgage, it's not backed up by a house," says David Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, the government's top auditor.

Bottom line: The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in 2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.

The numbers measure what's needed today — set aside in a lump sum, earning interest — to pay benefits that won't be covered by future taxes.

Congress can reduce or increase the burden by changing laws that determine taxes and benefits for programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

• Social Security. It will grow by 1 million to 2 million beneficiaries a year from 2008 through 2032, up from 500,000 a year in the 1990s, its actuaries say. Average benefit: $12,089 in 2008.

• Medicare. More than 1 million a year will enroll starting in 2011 when the first Baby Boomer turns 65. Average 2008 benefit: $11,018.

•Retirement programs. Congress has not set aside money to pay military and civil servant pensions or health care for retirees. These unfunded obligations have increased an average of $300 billion a year since 2003 and now stand at $5.3 trillion.

Terry and Sonia , Sonia and Terry . What is this stuff . I can not go another day without a story about Michelle's arms . Please try to get one in with pictures for my special use by the weekend , before the North Koreans are l nuke Pearl Harbor and then we will have to hear about that junk and why George Bush did it . I don't know what she has worn for days . More Michelle arms come on!

Then shut up, having to read your posts is DEFINITELY torture.............I couldn't resist, what do you get per quote 3P, .50cents? Well, I guess my 1 buck worth of quotes is the best I can do for ya, sorry.